1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a tubular headband mounted wet mop allowing for ease in mounting a wet mop to a mop handle versus a standard mounted wet mop, while reducing the overall weight of a wet mop required to clean the same surface area versus a standard mounted wet mop.
2. Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Wet mops are typically used to clean floors or other essentially flat surfaces. The mop is manufactured and constructed to provide maximum effectiveness in picking up surface dirt, soils and liquids from the floor surface. A typical standard wet mop is made by sewing a headband in the middle of strands of cord. The headband is then captured by a clamp or retainer on a mop handle. A typical standard wet mop is constructed with a headband sewn to a mop handle, creating a four-sided wet mop. The four-sided mop consists of two exterior sides and two interior sides. The exterior sides are typically the only sides that are in contact with the floor surface. A standard wet mop has the potential to damage flooring surfaces, coatings and finishes when the clamping device of the mop handle comes in contact with the floor surface. Several products and patents have been filed and issued on different types of wet mop heads. Exemplary examples of patents covering these products are disclosed herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,746 that issued on Jul. 28, 1998 to Todd Williams and U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,451 that issued on Dec. 15, 1998 to Rickie Barnett both disclose mop heads with abrasive or scrubbing surfaces. While these patents disclose mop heads, the mop head is constructed with strands of cord with the headband sewn in mid span of the strands of cord.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,729 issued Apr. 10, 2001 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,166 that issued on Aug. 7, 2001, both to Joel Weichelt et al., disclose a fabric wet mop. The mop is constructed with strands of cord or filler with a cloth covering. These mops provide two exterior and two interior surfaces for cleaning, but only the exterior surfaces are typically used.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,259 that issued on Jun. 29, 1976 to Ernest Richards and U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,040 that issued on Sep. 21, 1976, to John Cofton both disclose a wet mop construction where the mop is constructed by sewing a fabric body with a plurality of pile yarns placed on only one side of the fabric body. The pile of yarns exists on only the outside surface of the mop head. While this patent provides for a construction of mop using one sided fabric, the mop is not constructed from elongated strands of cord and further has limited flexibility to move around obstacles.
What is needed is a headband that eliminates the need for a four sided mop, creating a two-sided mop wherein both sides of the strands or cords are utilized. The elimination of the unused interior sides of a four-sided mop reduces the weight of the mop and also the cost to construct a mop where only half of the strands of cord are in contact with the floor surface area. The headband disclosed in this application provides a solution to this problem.